That's it, I'm afraid. No more indiscretions about life on the green benches in the House of Commons or piercing insights into Tory feuds. Forget the candid assessments of our electoral prospects or vivid descriptions of my latest rebellion. As the new deputy chairman of the Conservative party - oh yes, that's me - this column will have to be re-designated as a Tory party propaganda sheet. From now on, it shall be called Pravda.

Sad really, but there we are. On the other hand, given recent events it's not a bad time to have to write this stuff.

A new leader acclaimed by all, without the need for a divisive contest. Party unity breaking out in both the Commons and the country. A formerly hostile press talking up a sustained Tory recovery.

And, comrades, the production of pig iron up 300 per cent, consistent with the targets set out in our five year plan!

There we are, I'm getting the hang of it.

In fact, it is hard to deny that the last fortnight has been the best for the Conservatives in more than a decade. Even in the last 48 hours we've had the director general of the CBI telling us that the business vote is up for grabs and Rupert Murdoch hinting that the Sun and the News of the World could support the Tories at the next election.

It's worth asking why.

Michael Howard is rightly rated as an experienced politician with the ability to get the job done.

But, more importantly, commentators have been taken aback by the speed and decisiveness of his first moves. The leaner, meaner shadow cabinet. The rapid change at central office, including plans to sell the building. The sure-footed performance at his first outing against Tony Blair at question time. A stern and clear message about loyalty and hard work to the new shadow ministers. The highly professional team installed in his private office, including a former Thatcher adviser, chief of staff Stephen Sherbourne. All these things have combined to give the right impression.

Can we keep it up?

If you look at the "narrative" (as we party apparatchiks like to say) for the government, things certainly seem encouraging for the Tories. This week there will be another row about foundation hospitals. The Queen's speech will be dominated by the howls of Labour anguish over the introduction of tuition fees, in direct contradiction to the 2001 manifesto. And the Hutton inquiry report is just around the corner. Perhaps most important of all, the row between Gordon Brown and Tony Blair continues to come out into the open.

Yes, comrades, we have the capitalist running dogs of New Labour in our sights!

Sorry, Pravda again. (In fact I think "running dogs" was Chairman Mao, rather than Comrade Stalin, but you can't expect a Tory to know the difference.)

Hard as I try, I don't think I will be able to do Pravda style optimism on a permanent basis.

First of all, my colleagues are far too expert in deflating a new deputy chairman's ego. "Isn't that Jeffrey Archer's old job?" was one of my favourites. Even better was the senior, experienced backbencher who, when I puffed out my chest and proudly told him what my new job actually was, said: "Oh yes, we always have lots of those."

More importantly, we are at the start of a long, painful slog.

We have to explain how our commitment to the public services can be combined with our belief that taxes are already too high.

We need to find the right language to explain how giving people more choice over schools and hospitals does not mean an end to universal provision of a high quality.

We must show that policy can support marriage and families without stigmatising those who choose to live their lives in different ways.

We need to talk about our belief that the nation state is still the best unit for democratic government under the rule of law without appearing to be little Englanders.

I profoundly believe that we can do all those things, but it will take a lot of hard work.

And at the same time we've got to assemble a battle plan for a general election that is probably only 18 months away in which we need to win a massive swing and over 150 parliamentary seats in order to become the government.

In its heyday, Pravda never had to worry about these minor details of democratic life.

But whether you take the Pravda view of the last fortnight or a more realistic assessment, one thing seems clear. At last, we're in with a decent shout.